— 




Class Oil IT. 




THE FAMILY 

STRAWBERRY PATCH 

and the way to 

MAKE ST A SUCCESS. 
o 

Copyright 1911, by William Boulton. 

ALPENA, MICHIGAN. 

o 

Price 50 Cents. 






'€-CLft?789S9 



STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 
o o o 

Every one, fortunate enough to possess a 
garden, should have a portion of it devoted 
to the growing of strawberries. 

The family strawberry patch should he 
considered the most important part of the 
garden. It will certainly confer the most 
benefit with its bounteous gift of large and 
luscious strawberries. 

To grow strawberries successfully is not 
very difficult and does not require an expert 
gardener. Any person, possessed of ordin- 
ary intelligence, can grow the big, juicy, 
queen of fruits, who is not afraid of a little 
labor and will strictly follow a few simple 
rules, but these rules must be strictly fol- 
lowed. They are not many, neither are they 
difficult to learn and master. 

It is the object of this little book to tell 
the amateur gardener how the absolute, yet 
simple, work should be performed to attain 
success. 

This is not a scientific treatise, but is just 
merely a plain and simple statement of what 
a person must do in order to be successful 



2. Strawberry Culture. 



with the little, but much desired garden 
strawberry patch. 

o o o 

THE SOIL. 

The first thing to be considered is the soil. 
Now, the strawberry is a hardy plant and it 
will grow and produce fruit on any reason- 
ably fertile soil, but it does better on seme 
soils than on others. The best is sandy loam. 

A person can not always select the best 
s >il. He has to use such as his garden pro- 
vides. If it is heavy clay, it will have to be 
lightened by proper cultivation and the use 
of p'enty of barnyard manure. If it is 
light sand, it must also have an abundance 
of barnyard manure to make |he necessary 
humus and also to make the light, porous, 
sandy soil able to retain both the plant food 
and the moisture. It should also be com- 
pressed by rolling. **> 

While strawberry plants will grow and 
produce fruit en almost any kind of soil, 
even among grass, yet tl e amount of fruit 
produced, and the quality, is not such as is 



By William Eoulton. 



desired or profitable. To get the big*, juicy, 
delicious fruits and abundance of them, the 
plants must have a fertile soil, well drainec', 
and well cultivated, such as is generally 
termed intensive cultivation. It must bo 
mellow and well mixed with the plant food 
that a strawberry plant needs t) do its best. 

A soil that is rich enough to raise a good 
crop of potatoes or other garden vegetables, 
will grow a big crop of strawberries. The 
ground should not be too rich, but consider- 
able phosphorous and potash is necessary. 

We will suppose that the piece of ground 
selected has been well manured and a crop of 
potatoes or other vegetables has been grown 
upon it and the weeds kept down. Now 
spread over that tract a layer of well rotted 
manure, cow manure preferred, to a depth 
of at least one inch, and scatter over it » 
fertilizer, containing nitrogen, phosphoric 
acid and potash, at the rate of 400 pounds 
to tjie acre. 

A fertilizer having 3 per cent of nitrogen, 
7 per cent of phosphoric acid, and 9 per cent 
of potash, will be about the right composi- 



4. i Strawberry Culture. 



tion. A large per centage cf nitrogen is not 
needed in strawberry fertilizers, as it would 
have the tendency to make the plants run 
more to foliage than fruit. 

The next operation is to dig or plow the 
ground and give it several cultivations with 
a wheel hoe. If you do not have a wheel 
hoe, then use the garden rake and give the 
surface of the soil a good raking, so that 
there will be no lumps and the soil will be 
mellow and loose enough so the roots can 
easily push their passage through it 

o o 

MOISTURE. 

The strawberry plant requires plenty of 
moisture, yet its roots must not be in stand- 
ing water. There must be sufficient drain- 
age to remove all the surface water for 
several inches below the ground surface, 
generally termed standing water. 

The moisture, that is in the subsoil, must 
i:e retail cd, so that the plants can have a 
i escrvcir cf water to draw from as needed. 
The sul soil water can be largely retained by 



r By William Eoulton. I 

makings dust mulch. The dust mulch is 
simply the ground surface that has been made 
very line, to a depth of about two inches, 
with a rake or cultivator, and thus becomes 
loose and dry. It prevents what is termed 
capiiliary attraction from drawing the stor- 
age water to the surface, from where it 
would be absorbed by the atmosphere and 
thus wasted. 

To maintain the dust mulch, the ground 
must be raked or cultivated about once a 
week, and also as soon after a heavy rain 
as the ground will permit. A heavy rain 
makes a crust on the ground, and the ca- 
pilliary attraction goes to work to draw the 
storage moisture to the surface. The ground 
must be loosened on the surface after a 
heavy rain, and if there has been no heavy 
rain, the raking or cultivating must be done 
about every seven days. 

To preserve the storage water is one of 
the most important acts in growing straw- 
berry plants. 

Making a dust mulch also tends, to a great 
extent, in preventing weeds from growing, 



Strawberry Culture. 



for as the surface is loose and dry to a depth 
of about two inches, weed seed can not 
sprout for lack of any moisture. The dust 
mulch, therefore, does two very necessary 
acts — it prevents a waste of water and it 
prevents weeds from growing. 

READY TO PLANT. 
You are now ready to set out the straw- 
berry plants. The ground has been thorough- 
ly broken by the spade or plow. It has been 
frequently cultivated, and the soil is in a 
mellow condition, Sufficient manure and 
fertilizer has been spread over the patch and 
has been well mixed with the soil. Al- 
ready the chemistry of nature has begun 
the important work of preparing the food 
for the plants, so that it will be in a good 
condition for the roots to feed upon. The 
light sandy parts have been rolled to com- 
press the soil and prevent leaching. You 
have kept the ground surface well broken 
up, making a fine dust mulch, and have thus 
prevented the capilliary attraction from 
wasting the stored up water, There is not 



By William Boulton. 



a weed to be seen and the time has arrived 
to set out the young and thrifty plants. 



KIND OF PLANTS TO GET. 

There is only one kind of the strawberry 
plants that should be used. They must be 
from thrifty parents and be free from dis- 
ease. 

Plants, taken from a bed tjiat has born 
fruit, should not be used, because such are 
not vigorous and they will only cause failure 
and disappointment. The plants must come 
from parents that have born neither blos- 
soms or fruit. The reason is that a straw- 
berry plant can not produce blossoms and 
fruit and also produce strong and healthy 
plants. It has not sufficient strength to do 
so. It is one of the most important facts 
you must keep in mind, if you would be suc- 
cessful in growing big crops of fire berries, 
and you must not forget it. 

You can get good, healthy, strawberry 
plants from any reliable nursery, but do not 
go far south of your own latitude. You can 



8. Strawberry Culture. 

also have a propogating bed and grow your 
own strawberry plants. 

The kind of plants you use is one of the 
most important things in regard to being 
successful in growing big crops of large 
strawberries. 

There are- two distinct series of straw- 
berry plants, but they can be distinguished 
only by their blossoms. One is the female, 
known as the pistolate, and the second is 
the male plant, known as the bi-sexial. 

The female plant has only pistils in her 
blossoms. The male plants has both pistils 
and stamens or anthers. 

The female plant is therefore unable to 
fertilize her blossoms with polen and has to 
depend on male plants for the necessary 
polen. Without the fertilizing polen the 
female plant might have a vigorous growth 
and abundance of blossoms, but would have 
very little fruit, and what she had would be 
of inferior quality. Tli*s male plant is able 
to fertilize its own blossoms. 

Therefore, in making a bed of strawberry 
plants, you must not plant all female or 



By William Bqurtbn, 9. 

pistilate varieties. You must, without fail, 
plant both male and female, in rows parall- 
el to each other, and not far distant, 

In making your strawberry bed, it is a 
good plan to use both kinds, because the 
female plant does rot have to use a great 
deal of her strength in producing polen, and 
can thus devote her whole strength to plant 
growth and fruiting, while the male plant 
will supply the necessary polen. 

There are numerous kinds of strawberry 
plants, as regards the fruit. Some are early ; 
some are medium, and others are late, and 
each grower will have to decide which is the 
best for his purpose. Some kinds do well on 
one kind of soil, and others flourish on other 
kinds of soil. Study the catalogues of the 
strawberry plant propagators, but do not 
believe all they claim for their plants. 

If you know of any one who is growing 
strawberries successfully in your neighbor- 
hood, ascertain from him what kinds of 
plants do best in the region you live in. 

If you are not able to get the necessary 
information, we would suggest that you 



10. Strawberry Culture. 

select an early kind of the male species, and 
set out one row, which ought not to be less 
than 25 feet in length, for a family straw- 
berry patch. Then set two rows of Warfield, 
then a row of Dunlaps, after which you can 
set out a row or two of a late kind. 

Some male plants have but little polen, 
while others have it in abundance. Be sure 
and get good, thrifty plants and be positive 
that they are not ?11 of the female variety. 

There i3 another thing to be considered. 
What kind of fruit do you prefer? Remem- 
ber that you are going to grow strawberries 
for yourself ami family. Some plants pro- 
duce bright red berries; others are dark red 
and some are still different. Some berries 
are sweet; some slightly acid, and some are 
very acid in their taste. Which do you pre- 
fer? Decide that question before you order 
your plants. The propagator's catalogue 
will gi\e you full information in regard to 
the color, taste, sex, and other information 
desired. 

Do not deal with a straw oerry plant grow- 
er unless you have every reason to belie /e 



By William Boulton. 11. 



he k reliable. Pay him his price. Most of 
the prices, from reliable growers of straw- 
berry plants, range from 25 cents to 75 cents 
for 25 plants. By 50 or 100 plant lots they 
are less per plant. 

MARKING THE GROUND. 

The next thing is to mark the ground so 
that the plants, when set out, will be in line 
two ways. 

The rows for the garden patch should be 
SO inches apart. For field culture the dis- 
tance between the rows is greater, to permit 
of a horse being used to draw the cultivator. 

In the row, the plants should be set at a 
distance of 18 inches from each other, for 
the garden patch, which, after the double 
hedge row has been made, will leave all the 
plants, including the four runner plants and 
their mother plant, at a distance of six in- 
ches from each other in each row. 

The marking is done by a wheeled rig, or 
by a sort of sled, which, being drawn over 
the ground, leaves three or more marks on 



12. Strawberry Culture. 

the soil, the length of the plot, and distant 
from each other SO inches, The marker is 
then arranged to mark at distances of 18 
inches, and drawn at right angles to the 30 
inch ones. 

Where the marks cross each other is the 
place where the plants should be set. That 
method arranges your plants in straight lines 
both lengthways and crossways. 

Several benefits are derived from setting 
the plants in straight lines. It is very much 
easier to cultivate them. You can also cross 
cultivate them until the new plants set, and 
it presents a pleasing and workmanlike ap- 
pearance. Do not have crocked rows. 

For marking the rows for your little gar- 
den strawberry patch, a much more simple 
plan can be used, Get a garden string and 
a stick 18 inches in length. Drive a stake at 
each end of the first row and stretch the 
string from one stake to the other. Set 
the plants right under the string and use the 
13 inch stick to designate the distance the 
plants are to be set apart. Then move the 
stakes 30 inches, and thus continue until nil 



By William Boulton. 13. 



•the rows of your little strawberry patch are 
planted. 



TRIMMING THE PLANTS. 

You are now ready to set out your straw- 
berry plants. In the northern states the 
only time to set out strawberry plants is in 
the spring, just as soon as the ground can 
be got ready. 

If the plants are set out in the fall, they 
will not have grown sufficient roots to enable 
them to winter in safety, therefore do not 
set out your plants in the fall. The spring 
is the only safe time to set out the plants 
in the northern states. 

Your ground is ready, and it is in beauti- 
ful condition. The soil is mellow to a depth 
of eight inches. It has a fine surface, and 
is free from lumps. It has plenty of avail- 
able food for the plants to feed upon, and 
below the surface there is a good storage of 
moisture. 

The plants have arrived from a reliable 
grower, and they are in good condition, hav- 



14. Strawberry Culture. 

ing plenty of roots and being well protected 
with moss to keep them from drying up. 

Now indelibly impress on your mind a vei y 
important fact regarding strawberry plants. 
You must not let the roots get dry, because, 
if the roots get dry, you might as well throw 
the plants away, for their chance of living 
is very slight. Therefore be exceedingly 
careful not to expose them to sunlight or to 
the wind. 

Get a small basket, one that will hold 
about a peck. Place a damp newspaper in 
the bottom. Then put in the plants and 
cover with another dampened newspaper. 

Before you take the plants to the garden 
patch, you must trim the plants and roots. 
Take a plant in your left hand, grasping it 
just below the crown. Notice how long the 
roots are. If you were to plant it in the 
shape it came from the nursery, you would 
n>t be able to set it in the ground, without 
having the roots bent or doubled. You can 
see that fact from the length and number of 
tie roots of the thoroughbred plant in your 
hand. It must be trimmed. 

With a pair of shears cut oil all the old 



By William Boulton. 15 



runners and dead leaves and all the live ones 
except just one. Let the leaf, yoa leave on 
the plant, t>3 the b-ast one. Now cut off all 
the roots about an inch below your hand, 
and the plant is then ready to be set in the 
ground. The trimming- must be done under 
cover. On no account do it out doors, for 
fear of drying the roots. 

There are two good reasons for trimming 
off the ends of the roots. First, it permits 
the planting of the strawberry plant without 
having any of the roots doubled up. Second, 
it permits the cut ends to callous and throw 
out numerous laterals or feeders. In other 
words trimming the roots causes the plant 
to grow more feeding roots. 

For setting out strawberry plants, there 
is nothing better than the strawberry dib- 
ble. There are various kinds of dibbles, but 
the strawberry dibble is made of steel, ten 
inches long and four inches wide, without 
including the handle, and weighs nearly two 
pounds. The bevel at the lower end is 
ground sharp. It retails a ; ; 36 cents. 

The use of the dibble permits you to set 



16. Strawberry Culture. 



the plant without withdrawing it. It pre- 
vents the dirt from falling back into the 
hole you have just made. It does not allow 
the soil to dry and it makes a sufficiently 
large hole to allow the plant to be easily and 
properly set in its place. 

If you can not get a dibble, use a spade, 
or make one out of a piece of maple board. 
The wooden one can be used where the 
ground is not heavy clay or stony. 

Take the dibble in your right hand and 
stick it straight down into the soil, just in 
front of you, to the depth of the blade. It 
is easily done, as it has a sharp point and 
edges. Then press the dibble from you and 
make a "V" shaped hole, which will be 
about four inches wide at the top. Keep 
the dibble pressed against the dirt to keep 
it from falling into and filling up the hole. 
Now, with your left hand, get a plant from 
the covered basket. Give it a slight shake, 
to straighten the roots, jid place it in the 
^o]e made by the dibble. Spread the roots 
out fan shape, and let them rest against the 
fcide of the hole nearest you. The crown of 



By William Boultcn. 17. 



the plant must be just above the surface of 
the ground. Now remove the dibble and 
the dirt will fall against the roots, just set. 
Then press the-dirt so that it will be firm 
against the roots. 

The packing of the dirt against the roots 
is very important, as it gives the roots a 
better chance to commence feeding, and al- 
so improves their ability to get moisture. 

One good way to pack the soil about the 
roots is to place your feet, one on each side 
of the plant, and your weight will be suffi- 
cient to pack the soil. 

The crown must not be buried, neither 
must the roots show above the surface. 

Roots exposed to the sun and wind dry 
and the result is death to the plant or it is 
permanently damaged. Put all the other 
plants in the same way and 18 inches apart. 

Bending down is not the easiest kind of 
work for a grown person, and you will find 
it to your advantage to attach a cap to your 
knee, of some waterproof material, and then 
when you are ready to use the dibble, drop 
on one knee. 



H&. Strawberry Culture. 



When the row is finished you can change 
labor by taking a rake and smoothing the 
ground along the row last planted, removing 
all signs of your feet marks, and leaving the 
surface in good condition to form a dust 
mulch. Now go on and do the remainder 
of the rows in the same way. 

When the planting is finished, and it will 
not take you very long to set all the plants 
in your little patch, you can then view the 
scene with pleasure and satisfaction, know- 
ing that you have done good work. 

You have prepared the ground properly. 
It is mellow and has plenty of plant food and 
moisture. You have planted first class 
thoroughbred plants, free from disease or 
plant weakness. There are no weeds to be 
seen, and the surface has been raked fine, 
forming a dust mulch, which prevents ca- 
pilliary attraction frcm exhausting the under 
surface of moisture. Along the various 
rows, at intervals of 18 inches, you can see 
the tiny green leaves of the plants. 

There is now no more work to be done, for 
r.t least a week, unless a heavy rain ccmes 



By William Boulton. 19. 



and makes a hard crust on the ground sur- 
face. That crust must be broken as soon 
as you can— that is, when the ground has 
dried sufficiently to permit the rake or the 
wheel hand cultivator to loosen the crust and 
restore the dust mulch. The crust breaking 
must not be done when the ground is muddyt 

ONLY ONE LEAF. 

Why are all the leaves cut off except one? 
Why not leave all the foliage on the plant 
when it was set in the ground? 

The reason for cutting off all the leaves, 
except one, is that the young plant will have 
to be in the ground for some time before its 
roots are able to take plant food and moisture 
from the soil, and during that time the plant 
has to feed upon itself. 
_ The plant must have a leaf in order to 
live, because leaves are as necessary as are 
the roots, but the more leaves, the more 
substance required from the roots, and there- 
fore it is necessary to remove all the leaves 



Strawberry Culture. 20. 

except those that are actually needed for the 
plant's existence. One leaf will do the work 
required, but the plant must have one. 



REMOVE THE BUDS. 

Sometime after planting, you will notice 
that the new plants have produced fruit buds 
and many of them. They must be removed. 
This is very important, for on the removal 
of the buds depanils the success of your 
plants. It must not be neglected. 

Why remove the buds from the plants? 

Because the young plants have not suffi- 
cient roots and foliage to properly sustain 
the plant, grow runners, and also produce 
blossoms, polen and fruit. 

The plants have been in the ground but a 
short time, and what roots they have are 
reeded exclusively to maintain a vigorous 
growth of the plant. To increase its burden, 
by adding the exhausting work of producing 
blossoms and fruit, is maling it do more 
than it is able to do, and the result is the 



By William BouItoU 21. 

same as if you were to make a child do a 
man's labor. 

The plant would be so exhausted by its 
double labor that it would be permanently 
disabled. The final result would be that it 
would not produce a good crop of fruit and 
it would produce weak offsprings, 

The entire work of roots and leaves must 
be devoted, the first year, to making- a strong 
and vigorous mother plant and her runners. 
Therefore do not fail to remove the bud^. 
Do so before the buds develop into blossoms 

The buds can be easily removed by pinch- 
ing them off with the thumb and forefinger, 
or a pair of sheers can be used. The first 
plan is the best, and you can do the work in 
your little patch in a few minutes. You can 
not get all the buds the first time going over 
the patch, and you must afterwards keep 
close watch and when ycu see a bunch of 
the fruit buds, or a blossom, be sure and re- 
move them. 

The plants must have the exclusive use cf 
the ground, and their progress must not be 
hindered by weeds, buds, blossoms o: fruit. 



22. Strawberry Culture. 



If you are anxious to see what kind of 
fruit your plants will bare, you can leave a 
few blossoms on two or three plants. 



ARRANGING THE RUNNERS. 

The next important operation is attending 
to the new runners, 

You are going to form what is termed the 
double hedge row, because that is the best 
way to grow strawberry plants, in order to 
get big crops of juicy berries. 

The double edge row system of laying the 
new plants, consists in allowing the mother 
plant to produce but four runners, or new 
] slants, and all the rest are considered the 
same as weeds and cut off. 

A double edge row would look as follows 
when completed: 

12 12 12 

M M M 

3 4 3 4 3 4 

The letter "M" represents the mother 
plants and the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, the four 



By William Bculton. 23. 

new plants. You have now three rows, in- 
stead of one, and each will be about six 
inches apart. 

The plants, you set out in the spring-, are 
called the mother plants, and their offsprings 
are the runners or new plants. They are to 
be arranged so that each plant will be about 
six inches from the mother plant, and the 
same distance from each other. That dis- 
tance apart gives each plant sufficient room 
and plenty of territory to draw nourishment 
and moisture from. It also allows plenty of 
sunlight to get to the plants and fruit, and 
yet the plants, if in proper condition, will 
furnish sufficient shade for the fruit. 

If the plants are allowed to run at random 
and fill up the space, there will be such a 
great demand on the soil for nourishment 
and moisture, that they can not be furnish- 
ed, and the result will be a lot of small and 
undesirable berries. 

Some of the runners are long and some 
are short, and thus you will have to place 
the new plants where you want them, and 
not let the runners set at random. 



24. Strawberry Culture. 



The lictle plant, at the end of a runner, 
is called a node, and you will frequently 
find that it has difficulty in getting its roots 
into the ground, especially if dry weather 
and cultivation has made the surface dry. 
In that case, place the young plant where 
you want it, and then place a little dirt on 
the runner, just back of the node, to hold it 
down. That mode of anchoring it will keep 
the wind from blowing it away from the 
spot selected for its home, and will also help 
it to get its roots into the ground. 

If it should happen that some of the 
mother plants have died, or been killed by 
insects, then let the new plant send out its 
runner and thus fill up the gap . 

After a new plant has got its roots firmly 
fixed in the ground, it does not need any 
more assistance from the mother plant, and 
the stem, that connects the two, can be cut 
without doing any injury. 

It is not absolutely necessary to cut the 
stem and separate the mother from her off- 
spring, but by doing so, you will find it much 
more easier to work the pointed hoe be- 



By William Boulton. 25. 



tween the plants, as the runners, if not cut, 
would catch the hoe and prevent thorough 
work. 

o- — o 

PROPAGATING BED. 

If you desire to grow your own plants, 
for setting out the next spring, do not re- 
move any of the new runner plants at the 
ends of the row, for a distance of three or 
five feet, according as to the number of 
plants you will want. Let both the mother 
plants and the new plants make all the run- 
ners they can, and when they are through, 
the space between the rows will be almost 
covered with plants. 

From that mass of plants you can dig 
what you need the next year. 

That part of the strawberry patch would 
be the propagating bed or nursery. 

During the latter part of the autumn, you 
should cease the work of cultivating, for 
this reason : Cultivating the ground permits 
the air to enter, and it causes the chemical 



Strawberry Culture. 



f gents of nature to work vigorously, with 
the result of increasing the plant growth. 
Now, by that time, your intensive mode of 
cultivation has caused a satisfactory growth 
of the plants, and what you want now is to 
have the plants produce plenty of crowns. 

The crowns are produced in the fall, and 
they can be greatly assisted by delaying the 
plant growth. It is best done by ceasing 
cultivation. 

You have done such good work during the 
summer, that the weeds have been kept out 
of the patch, and there is very little chance 
for the weeds to grow so late in the year. 
Therefore you can safely cease battling 
against the weeds until next spring. 

o o 

MULCHING. 

As soon as the ground is frozen, you must 
cover the entire patch with straw, which is 
the best thing you can use for a protector. 
If you can not get straw, get marsh hay, 
but keep in mind the plants must be covered. 



By William Boulton. 27. 



The straw should be about two inches thick 
all over the patch. 

Freezing alone does not injure the plants. 
It is the frequent thawing and freezing in 
the spring that does the injury. The thaw- 
ing and freezing raises the plants out of the 
ground and breaks the roots, resulting in the 
destruction or injury to the plants. 

Even if they survive, they will be of very 
little benefit to you as fruit producers, and 
that is what you have labored so hard for, 
plenty of big juicy berries. 

There are two other good reasons for cov- 
ering the ground wth straw. It serves as a 
mulch to keep down the weeds and preserve 
the stored moisture, and it has a tendency 
to keep the ground frozen until the change- 
able weather in the spring is over. 

If the reasons stated did not exist, you 
would still have to cover the ground with 
straw. If you had no straw on the ground, 
every rain, during the fruiting time, would 
splash mud over the berries, and you would 
not like to eat strawberries seasoned with 
sand and mud. Therefore the ground must 



28. Strawberry Culture. 



be covered with straw at berry picking time, 
so the fruit will be clean. It is very impor- 
tant and must not be neglected. 

In the patch that is well mulched with 
straw, you can go to it right afiter a heavy 
rain and pick berries free from dirt. Bare 
in mind that it is not the proper thing to 
pick berries when they are wet, unless you 
desire a few for immediate use. 

You can not ship wet berries without hav- 
ing them spoiled. 

Now be sure and cover your entire straw- 
berry patch with, at the least, two inches of 
straw, as soon as the ground is frozen. 

It will not do to cover the plants until the 
ground is frozen, as it would injure them, 
and be liable to smother them. Wait until 
winter has put the plants to sleep before you 
spread their bed clothes on. 

o o 

REMOVING THE MULCH. 

When spring comes and the frosts are out 
of the ground, just take a look at your 
.strawberry plants, and if you see them 



By William Boulion. £9 



sending out above the surface their c r en 
leaves, you will know the time lor action has 
again arrived. 

You must then remove the stray/ fron 
above the plants, so they can see daylight, 
but do not remove any of the straw from b > 
tween the rows. This is very importar/, 
because the plants can not be expected to 
thrive when covered with straw. Besides 
the danger of smothering the plants, when 
beneath a heavy covering, it is necessary to 
remove the covering to make them hardy 
and not get bleached. 

The straw can be removed from off the 
plants with a rake or a fork, but use them 
with great care, so as not to pull up any of 
the plants. The ground being soft, at that 
season of the year, it is easy to pull out a 
plaixt. 

Do not walk up and down the rows any 
more than is actually necessary, because 
walking on the moist ground will pack it 
hard. 

If you wish to loosen the ground, after the 
plants have got a good growth, and ih? sil 



)0. Strawberry Culture. 



is somewhat dried, you can move the straw 
from the center of the rows and pile it 
against the plants. Then run the cultivator 
up the center of the row, but do not go close 
to the plants, for fear of cutting roots, and 
then replace the straw back to its place. 

That will not only loosen and mellow the 
ground but will admit the air to set the 
chemical agents to work more vigorously. 

In the spring you will set out your second 
bed, the same way as you did the first, and 
then there is but little to do until the time 
comes to gather the fruit, except to remove 
any weeds that may show themselves. 



— o 



THE WORK YOU HAVE DONE. 

While you are waiting patiently and eager- 
ly for the ripening of the big, juicy berries, 
you naturally look back, mentally, over the 
past year and review your labor. 

You first enriched the soil by covering it 
with stable manure to the depth of at least 



By William Boulton. 3L 



one inch, and you famished an admirable 
assistant in the shape of fertilizer at the rate 
of 400 pounds to the acre, containing three 
per cent of nitrogen, seven per cent of nkos- 
poricacid, and nine per cent of potassium. 

You did not need a large per cent of ni- 
trogen, because the strawberry plant does 
not require as much mere plant as do many 
kinds of vegetables, but it does require con- 
siderable phosphoric acid and potash to pro- 
duce fine, large and well colored berries. 

You then procured first; class thoroughbred 
plants, that you knew were free from any 
disease and came from strong, healthy and 
vigorous mother plants, because you obtain- 
ed them from a reliable grower. You were 
careful not to set out plants that were taken 
from fruit bearing beds and were thus of a 
weak nature. 

You trimmed the plants properly, set 
them in the ground correctly, and then laid 
them so that the roots were net doubled or 
bent, and that the mellow and well culti- 
vated soil was firmly pressed against them. 
You picked off all the fruit buds, so that 



32. Strawberry Culture. 



the entire growth should go towards the 
building up of vigorous plants, and you did 
not weaken them by making them do more 
work than they were able to do in their 
infancy, 

You kept down the weeds, so that the 
plants would not have to share the supply 
of nutriment and moisture with thieving and 
unwelcome grafters, and your strawberry 
plants had the entire resources of the ground 
in their vicinity, to themselves and for their 
sole use. 

You maintained a dust mulch, and thus 
kept your pets from suffering from thirst 
during the droughts of summer and fall. 

You arranged the runners in double edge 
row and saw that the plants were at least 
six inches from each other, and then cut off 
the surplus runners. 

When the ground was frozen, you covered 
the entire patch about two inches deep with 
nice wheat straw, and in the spring you re- 
moved such straw as was directly above the 
plants, so they would not get bleached, in- 
jured or weakened. 



By William Boulton. 



The last thing you did was to loosen tie 
soil and remove what few weeds appeared, 
and it does your eyes good to gaze on the 
large, well developed, healthy plants, with 
their loads of green berries, some of which 
are beginning to show a beautiful red color, 
a sure sign that the much longed for time 
is near at hand when you can have a royal 
feast of the queen of fruits. 

Yes, you have faithfully done your part of 
the contract and the strawberry plants are 
now sure to do their part. 

o 0- o 

PICKING THE FRUIT. 

And now the time has arrived when you 
are to be well rewarded for your care, labor 
and expense. 

The berries have begun to ripen, and the 
big, red, juicy fruits are nestling amid the 
dark green leaves, making a pretty picture, 
and bringing to your mind visions of straw- 
berries and cream and the big and delicious 
strawberry shortcake. 



M. Strawberry Culture. 



The berries must be picked properly. You 
do not want a lot of bruised and mashed 
berries on your table. In picking them do 
not squeeze the fruit, because a little press 
of the lingers will bruise them; they are so 
juicy. 

Take hold of the stem, about half an inch 
from the berry, and with your thumb and 
fore finger nails cut off the stem. It is very 
easily done, and you will soon learn the 
knack of picking the fruit in the right way. 
Be careful and do not injure the stem of the 
t unch, or you will spoil all the berries on it. 

To hold the fruit, when picked, you should 
buy or make a carrying tray. It will hold 
four cne quart baskets, and is easy to carry 
abcut the patch. In one box place the very 
large ones — the giants of their species, to 
1 e used as presents to particular friends and 
fat swell occasions at your own table. In 
two other baskets place all the rest of the 
good strawberries, and in the fourth basket 
put the few small ones and those that are 
only partly developed, for there will be a 
few of the pistilate kind that have not been 



. By William Eoulton. 35. 

fertilized by polen from the male plants, 
and are imperfect. 

As you planted very early, medium ep^rly, 
late, and very late species of plants, your 
strawberry season will last for at least 20 
days, and during that time you can pick many 
quarts of the big, juicy berries every day. 

For nearly a month your table will be sap- 
plied with the choicest fruit that grows on 
the earth, and what will give you added 
pleasure, is the knowledge that it is the re- 
sult of your own labor. You do not now 
have any regrets for the labor and money 
expended. 

o o 

SPECIES DIFFER. 

You will also find considerable difference 
among the various kinds, in regard to the 
way they produce fruit. Some have long 
and firm stems, that hold the bunches of 
berries well above the ground. Some have 
weak stems and their fruit lays on the 
straw. Others will have their berries well 



36. Strawberry Culture. 



scattered among the leaves and cunningly 
hidden amid the foliage. Before you lies a 
big bunch of berries. Lift it gently, so as 
not to break the stem, and often you will 
be surprised to find underneath, where they 
were hidden from sight, several big, juicy 
berries. 

While you are picking your berries, keep 
a close watch on the many green bunches, 
and if there is no straw under them, gently 
raise them and place straw under. You will 
save lots of big berries by so doing. The 
big berries are too delicious to be spoiled by 
neglect. 

If a berry touches the ground it will be 
spoiled. 

You will also find you have assistants in 
picking the fruit. Frequently you will find 
a berry that has had a gap eaten into it, 
showing the rich, creamy and tempting in- 
side. Some were done by birds and others 
by insects, but the loss is not very exten- 
si ve. The birds and insects know which are 
the ripest and best berries. They are good 
judges of a fine strawberry. 



By William Boulton. 37. 



PREPARING THE SECOND CROP. 

The strawberry fruit season being over, 
and a very pleasant and profitable time it 
has been for over three weeks, it is new 
time to prepare the bed for the second crop. 

The first thing to be done is to cut off all 
the strawberry plant tops, just above the 
crowns. You can do it with a scythe or 
a hand grass cutter or sickle. 

When it is possible to do so, you let the cut 
off tops lay on the ground until they are dry 
and then, when there is a brisk wind in the 
right direction, you set fire to them and 
burn them up. In doing so you destroy n. 
great many insects, besides laying a coat of 
ashes on the ground and destroying a lot of 
rubbish, consisting of the old straw mulch- 
ing and the cut off strawberry tops. 

The firing must be done when the wind is 
blowing freshly, so that the flames can pass 
quickly over the berry patch and thus do no 
damage to the plants. A slow fire would be 
apt to injure the crowns of the plants. 

In your lot, if the strawberry patch is 
close to the house or any building, it would 



« 8. Strawberry Culture. 



be exceedingly dangerous to fire the mulch 
and dry out cut off plants, so you will have 
to adopt a different plan. You must rake 
up the mulch and dry plants into heaps and 
then remove them to a safe place to burn, 
and if it is impossible to burn them safely, 
then make a pile of them and let them rot. 
It is best to destroy the cut off plants, be- 
cause if the leaves are infected, the burning 
will remove all danger of the disease spread- 
ing to your newly set out plants as well as 
the old ones. 

The next operation is to dig up the ground 
between the rows to within a few inches 
Jl the plants. In doing so you will cut off 
many of the old roots, but that will cause no 
damage, as they are of but very little use. 

If you would examine the roots of the old 
plants, you would see that they are black 
ind wirey. while those of new plants are 
whiteish. 

It is necessary to cover the crowns to cause 
the old plants to grow new runners. 

Now take a rake and pull the dirt from 
the center of the rows and cover the crowns 



By William Boulton. 39. 



of the plants about an inch deep with dirt. 
The object of covering the crowns with dirt 
is to make the crowns throw out new roots, 
and it is the only way it can be done. 

Taking the dirt from the contar ol the 
rows will leave a slight hollow in the center 
of the row. It gives you a good chance to 
place manure, not only filling the depres- 
sion, but furnishing more plant food, for the 
the rains will leach the fertilizing matter 
from the manure and send it to the roots in 
available shape for the new roots to feed 
on and thrive luxurantly. 

All you have to do now, until fall, is to 
cultivate and keep the weeds down. After 
the plants are well above the ground, you 
must thin them where ever necessary. In 
thinning, remove the weakest plants. When 
the ground is frozen, you must again cover 
the plants with straw. 

o- o 

BEST WAY FOR A SMALL PATCH 
In most gardens the ground is limited in 
size, and it may not be possible for you to 



40. Strawberry Culture. 

spare three tracts for the use of the straw- 
beri y plants. In that case, do not try to 
raise a second crop, but destroy the plants 
rs seen rs the first crop of strawberries are 
gathered. 

Of course ycu will plant a new bed each 
; ear, and ycu will thus have two beds, one 
merely of new plants, frem which the buds 
rre to be removed, tnd the ether patch will 
be your one yesr old fruit bearing bed. 

With the one crop system ef strawberry 
culture, you do not have to go to the labor of 
< overing the crowns, or covering the plants 
with stn w, and there is r:o danger from the 
winter, besides the second crop of berries 
is not so large or as fine as the first one. 

o o 

NO THREE CROPS. 

No attempt should be made to raise three 
crops successively from the same strawberry 
bed. After the second crop has been picked 
dig or plow under the plants. 

Strawberry plants have not vigor enough 
to grew three large crops of fine berries. 



By William Bculton. 41. 



"Tie one year system of strawberry plant 
(ullire would not do for field culture, as the 
expense of setting out new plants, for one 
. ear's fruiting, on an acre or more, would 
be too great to be profitable, and conse- 
quently, if engaged in strawberry culture, 
on a large scale, a second crop must be ob- 
tained, for financial reasons only. 

o o 

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 

It will sometimes occur that you have not 
been able to get your ground ready at the 
time your plants arrived from the nursery, 
owing to rains or a delayed and unexpected 
addition of winter. In that case you must 
heel the plants. 

Heeling the plants consists in digging a 
"V" shaped trench, the depth of which is 
about eight inches. Then take the plants 
that came from the nursery, remove them 
from the package and lay them along one 
side of the trench, being very careful to see 
that the roots of every plant lays against 
the dirt and are straightened out. Then 



42. Strawberry Culture. 



bring the dirt back again so that the roots 
are covered and only the crowns and leaves 
show above the ground. Press the dirt 
firmly against the roots. 

The plants can remain in the trench for 
several days without injury. 

If you have a propagating bed, you do not 
need to heel the plants, as you can dig them 
up when they are wanted. 

There is one thing you must not forget. 
The plants should be set in the ground be- 
fore they have begun to get a vigorous 
growth. They should be planted while 
.somewhat dormant, because if they get well 
advanced and are then dug up, it will cause 
a delay in growing when set in their new 
bed, as some cf their resources will have 
been expended in unnecessary growth. By 
planting them while they are dormant, you 
get the entire strength cf the plant. The 
1 lants you dig up will, of course, show one 
cr more leaves, but not very large. 

Do not set out a plant in your new bed 
m less it i as one heilchy looking new leaf, 
'.throw away ihote that show no life. 



By William Boulten. 40. 



A good healthy bearing strawberry plart 
ought to produce one quart of strawberries 
each season. 

To cover an acre of strawberry plants will 
require about three tons of straw. 
i Senator Dun lap and Pride of Michigan are 
good plants to use, if the hill system is fol- 
lowed. They are vigorous plants. 

An acre of strawberry plants ought to 
bring the grower from $S00 to $500 worth 
of fruit, from which expenses are to be 
deducted. 

A wagon load of manure will weigh about 
one ton, if there is much straw mixed with 
it, and if free from straw it will weigh one 
and a half tons. About 15 wagon loads of 
manure are required to properly fertilize an 
acre of strawberry plants. 

There are two ether systems of growing 
strawberries, besides the double hedge one. 
One is the hill plan, and the other is the 
single hedge style. 

The hill system consists in cutting ofr all 
the runners that the mother plant throws 
out. It causes the mother plant to develoo 



44. Strawberry Culture. 



a large plant growth and an increase in the 
number of crowns. By the single hedge 
row system you will get large berries, but 
not as numerous as by the double hedge row 
plan. 

The plants to set for the single hedge row 
are those that naturally have a large foliage, 
such as the Pride of Michigan, Donan, Dun- 
lap, and others. 

The double edge system is the best. If 
one plant in the hill or single hedge row is 
killed, it leaves a large gap, while the loss 
of a single plant in the double edge row is 
hardly noticed. 

The single rcw system consists in allow- 
ing the mother plant to throw out only two 
runners and one is set on each side of the 
mother plant, about six inches distant and 
in line, so that the entire row would be but 
a single plant wide. 

The double row system, when rightfully 
completed, makes three separate rows, six 
inches apart. 

WHITE GRUBS. One of the most dis- 
tructive enemies of strawberry plants, is the 



By William Boulton. 45. 

white grub, the offspring of the June bug. 

The destructive pests work under ground 
and eat all the roots off the plant and then 
go to another and continue their work of 
destruction. 

There is no way of destroying them with 
poison, as they can not be reached. 

If your ground is infested with the white 
grub, do not set strawberry plants in it, for 
to do so would be merely expending your 
time and money and getting no reward i i 
the shape of big, juicy, berries, unless you 
can find a way to destroy them. 

You say your garden is infested with the 
white grubs, and yet you are determined to 
have a strawberry patch. You wonder if 
there is not some way to free the ground of 
most of the pests so that the damage* done 
by those left will not be extensive. 

There is one way to rid your patch of most 
of the white grubs, but it requires a great 
deal of labor. 

The white grubs were introduced into your 
garden with that old manure you placed on 
it som3 time ago. The June bug prefers an 



46. Strawberry Culture. 

old manure heap as the best place it can 
find to deposit its eggs and breed its young. 

In the fall you dig up the ground, you in- 
tend to set straw beiry plants in the follow- 
ing spring. 

The proper way to dig is to sink the shovel 
or spade into the ground as far as the depth 
of the blade and as straight down as you 
can conveniently. Then use the handle as 
a lever to break the ground, raise the dirt 
about a foot and let it fall as you turn the 
blade of the shovel over. 

The dirt falls several inches and the fall 
canses it to break into fine pieces, and that 
is what you principally dig for; to make the 
soil loose and mellow. 

Watch carefully when the dirt scatters, 
and if there is a white grub in it you will 
see it and of course kill it. 

In digging, leave an open space in front. 
Do not fill up the hole just made by dropping 
the dirt back into it. When you have dug a 
row, there will be a sort of ditch in front of 
you and that you will fill with dirt from the 
next digging. It leaves a placo to push in 



By William Boulton. 47. 

the leaves, etc. , which lies on the ground. 

If you have any hens, turn them into the 
garden and they will get some of the grubs 
that escaped you. The frosts, that will soon 
come after the digging, witl also help you to 
lesson the number of your enemies. 

Give the patch another digging in the 
spring and watch every shovel full of dirt 
as it falls to the ground for any white grub 
that escaped the former search. , 

After the plants are well grown, you may 
notice one that does not have an healthy ap- 
pearance, and if you take hold of the foliage 
and pull slightly, you will raise the plant 
from the ground. Look at it and you will 
find the roots have been all eaten off. Dig 
down in the ground, where the plant was, 
and you will find a big white grub. Kill it, 
or it will travel to another plant and continue 
the work of destruction of your pet plants. 

PLANT ENEMIES. Rust and blight are 
also enemies of the strawberry plant. The 
first symptoms of the disease are small brown 
spots on the leaves. The plants can be safe- 
ly protected from blight by spraying with 



48. Strawberry Culture. 



the bordeaux mixture. It should be applied 
i efore the plants are infested with blight, 
as it does not cure but merely prevents. 

Spraying with the bordeaux covers the 
leaves with a thin coating of chemicals and 
thus prevents blight. The best is known as 
the 4-4-40, and consists of four pounds of 
copper sulfate, four pounds of lime, and 40 
gallons of water. 

The curling up of the leaves indicates an 
attack of mildew. Lack of moisture will 
also cause the leaves to curl. 

The leaf roller is an insect that rolls the 
leaves about it so as to make a shelter for 
it to hatch its offspring. It can be prevent- 
ed by spraying with kerosene mixture, if it 
is done before the leaves are curled. 

One of the best cures for blight and other 
diseases, is to remove the old leaves, after 
the fruiting season is over, and burn them. 

o 0- — -o 

SPRAYING MIXTURES. 
Leaf chewing insects can be kept off the 



By William Boulton. 49. 



strawberry plants by a spraying mixture of 
paris green or arsenate of lead. 

Arsenate of lead is the best, as it is not so 
liable to burn the foliage. To prepare it for 
the plants, take two and a half pounds of 
arsenate of lead and dissolve it in three gal- 
lons of hot water; stir until it assumes a 
creamy appearance and then add sufficient 
water to make 50 gallons. Smaller amounts 
can be made by using less arsenate of lead. 

To make the paris green mixture, take 
eight ounces of paris green and two pounds 
of lump lime. Now add two gallons of hot 
water. Kecpstirrirg the mixture to pre- 
vent burning, and when cool, add sufficient 
water to make 40 gallons. 

Bordeaux mixture is made by putting four 
pounds of blue vitriol in a coarse sack and 
emersing it in a barrel in which there are 20 
gallons of water. The sack is suspended in 
the barrel so that the bottom of the sack 
will just set in the water. Then pour three 
gallons of hot water over four pounds of 
lump lime. Stir to prevent burning, and 
when thoroughly slacked, add enough water 



50. Strawberry Culture. 



to BM ke twenty gallons. When cool, mix 
with the blue vitriol, by pouring the two 
mixtures into a third barrel at the same 
time. 

The bordeaux mixture is not a cure, but a 
preventive. It covers the leaves so that 
they are copper plated, and thus prevents 
blight from damaging the leaves. 

You must not spray your strawberry plants 
when they are in bloom or in fruit. Poison 
is a dangerous article to put on blossoms and 
fruit. Spray before the blossoms come. 

o o o 

ROOTS and PLANTS. 

Your labor amcng the strawberry plants, 
so far, has taught you that there must be 
both a good root system and a good foliage. 
Both are necessary to make a perfect plant 
that is capable of producing a big crop of 
juicy berries. 

The intensive cultivation and rich fertili- 
zation of the ground, has put the soil into a 
first class condition for the roots to thrive, 
and caused nature's chemical agents to take 



By William Boulton. 51. 



vigorous action in making proper plant f oo 1 
for the plants, and the ground is sa mellow 
that the roots can easily force their way 
into it. You have watched the foliage very 
closely and sprayed them when necessary, 
and the result is strong and healthy plants. 

The way the roots and foliage are depen- 
dent on each other can be learned from the 
following description of the way each per- 
forms its allotted and necessary task: 

A healthy plant must have vigorous and 
healthy roots, and the roots have various 
necessary tasks to perform. They act as 
guys or anchors to prevent the plant from 
falling to the ground, or being blown away 
by the winds. They pump up water from 
the ground and give the plant all the mois- 
ture it requires, if such is within reach of the 
little rootlets. They collect the right kind 
of food out of the earth and convey it to the 
plant for its support. 

It is therefore necessary that the roots be 
in goo 1 working condition to do their work 
properly. The plant can not get along with- 
out water and ground food, and it depends 



52. Strawberry Culture. 

to a great extent upon the roots doing that 
absolutely necessary work. 

It must be evident to you that, in order 
to have the roots able to properly supply the 
plant with food and water, their surround- 
ings must be all right. 

The soil must have sufficient moisture; it 
must have plenty of plant food, and that 
food must be in shape so that the plant can 
digest it and thrive; it must have a soil that 
is firm enough to hold the roots so they can 
anchor the plant, and the soil must be mel- 
low enough to permit the little roots to 
easily spread through it. 

That condition you have attained by dig- 
ging and cultivating the land to make it 
mellow; by putting on plenty of barnyard 
manure, and getting it well mixed with the 
ground; by loosening the ground sufficient 
to permit plenty cf air to enter and set the 
chemical agents of nature to work to make 
the raw manure into available plant food; 
by rolling the ground, when necessary; by 
making a dust mulch, so as to prevent ca- 
pilliary attraction from wasting your supply 



By William Boulton. 53. 



of water. The conditions you made are just 
right for the little roots to spread about the 
ground and do their assigned work properly. 

A plant, to be thrifty, must also have a 
good an4 healthy foliage. If the leaves are 
withered with rust or other leaf diseases, 
or are badly mutiliated by chewing insects, 
they are not able to do their allotted work, 
and the result is a stunted or dead plant. 

Both roots and leaves must be in good 
condition to make a healthy and thriving 
plant. They work in conjunction in the 
following manner: 

The roots spread all around the plant 
under the ground. Their number is large, 
and the parts that collect the required plant 
food and moisture, are at the ends of the 
roots. 

Now, if the barn yard manure, you put 
in the ground, is lumped in piles, it is of very 
little use to the plants, for in its original 
shape it is not available for the little root- 
lets to feed upon. If it is available and is 
not well scattered, only a few roots could 
feed upon it, while the many others would 



54. Strawberry Culture. 



starve, resulting in the plant being insuffi- 
ciently fed. It is therefore absolutely nec- 
essary that the manure and fertilizer must 
be well mixed with the soil, so that all the 
roots can reach it. 

When well mixed with the soil the manure 
is soon rotted and the chemical agents of 
nature then changes the unavailable fertili- 
zers into available food. 

Mr. Kellogg, who was a great authority 
on strawberry culture, said that raw manure 
was poison to the strawberry roots. 

If you were to come home wearied and 
feeling that a dainty article of food would 
tend to make the world look brighter, and 
when you had sat down to supper and the 
cook would set before you a big dish of dny 
rlour, do you think you could enjoy it? You 
could not eat it, for it would not be in avail- 
able shape for a human being. But let the 
cook take that flour and mix it with some 
water, butter, salt and other ingredients, and 
then roll the dough into the proper shape 
and put it into a hot oven and let the heat 
perform its chemical operation cf changing 



By William Boulton. 55. 

its composition, and then let the cook place 
in it a lot of fine, juicy strawberries, with 
plenty of sugar, and then the flour would be 
in an available shape — that of a delicious 
strawberry short cake. How you would en- 
joy it. 

It is the same with the raw fertilizer. 
The plant can not feed upon it and thrive 
until it has changed its form and become 
available. 

That teaches you how necessary it is that 
the soil must be well tilled, well watered, 
and have plenty of plant food well mixed 
with the soil, and also have sufficient heat 
and air to set the chemical agents of nature 
to work. 

The water, mixed with dissolved plant 
food, is pumped up by th$ roots to the leaves 
and that shows very plainly to yo.i thit the 
plant food has to be in perfect condition, so 
that the water in tho soil can dissolve it. 
It also shows plainly the necessity of having 
sufficient water to d j the work. 

On the under side of the leaves there are 
hundreds of minute holes, known as pores. 



56. Strawberry Culture. 

They serve as breathing places and emit all 
the water sent up by the roots that is not 
needed by the plants. 

Experts, who have made a stucty of the 
plants, state that the amount of water pump- 
ed up by a plant, during its life time, will 
weigh from 300 to 500 times the weight of 
the plant when dry, and that a strawberry 
contains 97 per cent of water. 

It shows the reason why it is absolutely 
necessary to preserve the water supply by 
dust mulching, '._ 

The leaves have the power of drawing 
carbonic acid gas from the atmosphere. 
That gas is composed of carbon and oxygen. 
The tw r o gasses are then separated and the 
oxygen released and sent back into the at- 
mosphere, while the carbon unites with the 
water and plant food, that w T as pumped up 
by the roots, and forms into starch. The 
starch is then changed into sugar and car- 
ried throughout the plant, and again be- 
comes starch and feeds the plant. 

Heat and light are therefore necessary to 
enable the plant to do the work just describ- 



By William Boulton. 57. 



ed, and it is therefore very evident that the 
ground should have sufficient heat and the 
leaves should have plenty of sunlight, other- 
wise they will not be able to perform their 
work properly. 

It is necessary, therefore, that the straw- 
berry plants should not be close together, so 
as to exclude the sun light from a large part 
of the leaves, in addition to the fact that the 
roots must have sufficient feeding ground in 
order to obtain sufficient nurishment. 

o o o 

IMPORTANT RULES. 

You must impress on your mind so strong- 
ly, that you will not forget, the following 
rules, if you desire to have success in grow- 
ing big juicy, strawberries and plenty of 
them: 

1. You must have good, healthy plants, 
produced by a mother that has not born 
fruit and from Which the buds have been 
picked. 

2. Your ground must be well cul Jvated, 
so that it is mellow and well aired. 



58. Strawberry Culture. 



3. The ground must have plenty of air, 
to cause the chemical agents of nature to 
work vigorously, but it must not be so loose 
so as to let capilliary attraction waste the 
stored up water. 

4. There must be plenty of barnyard 
manure in the ground, and it must be well 
mixed with the soil, so it will decay easily 
and be in reach of all the little rootlets. 

5. The plants must be trimmed and set 
in the ground so the crown is just above the 
surface. 

6. The buds must be removed from the 
new plants, so all tie strength of the plant 
will be used in the building up of foliage and 
roots. 

7. A dust mulch must be made by culti- 
vating with a cultivator or rake, so as to 
preserve the w r ater supply and to prevent 
loss of water by evaporation. 

8. Only four runners must be allowed to 
each mother plant, set in double hedge row, 
and all the other runners cut off. 

9. The ground must be covered with 
straw, both to act as a mulch, to keep down 



By William Boulton. 59. 



the weeds, and to keep the strawberries 
clear of dirt. 

10. After the fruit has all been picked 
off the plants, the tops must be cut off and 
burned or removed from the patch. 

11. The ground must be kept clear of 
weeds, because they use up the plant food, 
pump up the water and shade the straw- 
berry plants. 

12. After mowing off the old strawberry 
leaves, the ground, between the rows, must 
be loosened, to make it easy for the new 
roots to force their way through, and the 
crowns must be covered with dirt to the 
depth of about an inch, so that new roots 
can shoot out. The plants must also have a 
straw blanket for a winter covering. 

o o o 

FIELD CULTURE. 
,The growing of strawberries, en a large 
scale, by the acre, is the same as for the 
garden patch, with some exceptions. 

The rows are placed four feet apart and 
the plants are sat in the rows 20 inches from 



CO. Strawberry Culture. 



each other. Horse cultivation will be need- 
ed, as it could not be done profitably with a 
wheel hoe or hand hoe. 

The rows are made wider to allow a horse 
cultivator to be used. 

Of course a person can not enrich acres 
of strawberries the same as can be done with 
a small garden patch, for the reason that 
sufficient stable manure can not always be 
obtained. 

But whether on a large scale or small one, 
the ground must be well cultivated, good 
plants used, weeds kept down, straw mulch- 
ing spread on the ground, and the soil sur- 
face kept loose, so as to prevent a waste of 
moisture by needless evaporation. 

Some plants, that thrive on a soil that has 
considerable clay in it, would not be a suc- 
cess on a sandy soil, the Gandy for instance. 

Some bi-sectials have an abundance of 
polen, while other ti-sectials are very defi- 
cient. In experimenting with new kinds of 
strawberry plants, you must keep these facts 
in mind. 

Tne catalogues of reputable growers of 



By William Boulton. 61. 



strawberry plants, will give you all the in- 
formation you need, in regard to fruit, size, 
color of berry, kind cf soil, rclcn supply, 
and many other things you will find necess- 
ary to know, if your ideal is to be achieve J. 

If you should sell any berries, give your 
customers good, hcrest measure, and co not 
put a lot of inferior berries in the bottcm of 
the boxes, and cap off with large and fine 
fruit. If you promise a customer a quart of 
first class berries, fulfill your promise. It 
pays to be honest. 

After you have set out all ycur straw- 
berry plants, you should drhe a stake at 
the commencement of each rw and paint 
the name of the plants on it. You will fird 
it very convenient the next season in desig- 
nating where the difTerent kir ch of plants, 
you set out, are located. The memory is 
sometimes confusing and gives \o.i wrong 
information in regard to the kind of straw- 
berry plants in the various rows. A glance 
at the sign po>t, at the head of each row, 
tells yju, without delay cr mistake, what 
kind is in that row. 



62. Strawberry Culture. 



Do not put strawberries in a tight box or 
pail, unless they are for immediate use. 

If the berries are left all night in such re- 
ceptacles, in a warm close room, they would 
be somewhat musty in the morning. 

If you want to keep strawberries a day or 
two, place them in baskets, through which 
the air can pass, and set them in a cool place 
where the air is fresh. 

To get the full benefit of the strawberry, 
it should be eaten the same day it is picked. 

During a dry season it may be necessary 
to water the plants, especially at the time 
they are teaiirg iiuit, Lceau.se a plant with 
80 or 50 berries on it needs plenty of water. 

One good way to supply the moisture is 
to dig a little trench in the middle of the 
rows and run the water from the highest 
part. It will then soak through the ground 
to the strawberry plant roots and carry 
plant food with it. 

For the little garden patch use a watering 
can, without the sprinkler, and pour the 
water on the mulching in the middle of the 
raws. 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 
JMI 1 !9tfi 



)Afc ? »« 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



DDDD c ]lfl335fl 



